AI Research Guides

A good research topic must satisfy five criteria: interest, feasibility, originality, significance, and appropriate scope. Following five steps — brainstorming, literature review, narrowing, validation, and finalization — significantly reduces the risk of a dead-end topic.

Analyze your advisor's research across four dimensions: research trajectory, flagship papers, methodology patterns, and co-author network. This helps you choose a lab-aligned topic, prepare productive meetings, and accelerate your graduation.

Evaluate your questions against the FINER criteria, structure them with the PICO framework, then convert them into testable hypotheses. Choose among four types — descriptive, comparative, relational, or causal — and the appropriate methodology will follow naturally from your choice.

Choose a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed-methods approach based on your research question, then design the methodology in six steps: research design, sampling, data collection, analysis, validity, and ethics. The guiding principle is that the question determines the method.

A research proposal has eight components: title, abstract, introduction, literature review, research questions, methodology, timeline, and references. Start with the literature review to clarify the gap, then detail the methodology, and write the introduction and abstract last.

Structure your research question using the PICO framework, then combine Boolean search queries with AI semantic search to secure core papers. Expand coverage through citation tracking and screen results using PRISMA criteria in a 5-step method.

The three-pass method (skimming, comprehension, deep analysis) filters out 80% of papers in the first pass, so only about 10% need full analysis. Read abstract, conclusion, figures and tables, then body text, and always set a clear purpose before opening any paper.

Analyze papers in three steps -- section-by-section analysis, critical evaluation, and connecting to your own research -- and assess quality with the CRAAP framework. Deeply analyzing 20 key papers beats skimming 100 when it comes to research quality.

Follow four steps: collect and screen papers, assess quality, synthesize thematically, and write the review. The key is thematic integration, not listing individual paper summaries.

Approach research trend analysis in four steps: map key data sources, analyze keyword frequency and citation networks, apply trend insights to your research, and build a continuous monitoring system. The key is to distinguish signals of rising trends from declining ones, and to position your research at the intersection of a growing field and your own interests.

Research gaps fall into four types: empirical, theoretical, methodological, and practical. Analyze limitations and future research sections in recent papers, track contradictory findings, and examine scope boundaries to discover valuable gaps for your research.

Pick one reference manager, combine folders with tags, and take notes the moment you read a paper. A well-organized library cuts literature review writing time in half, prevents missed citations, and eliminates duplicate downloads across hundreds of papers.

Follow the IMRaD structure (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion), but write in this order: Methods, Results, Introduction, Discussion, then Abstract last. Never start with the Introduction — begin with the sections you have already finalized, and plan at least three rounds of revision.

Check the journal's requirements first, extract key points from each section of your completed paper, then compose five elements — background, objective, methods, results, and conclusion — across five steps.

Match every in-text citation to its reference list entry one-to-one, and apply your designated style (APA, MLA, Chicago) consistently from the first draft. Using a reference manager from the start reduces formatting errors that multiply as sources grow.

Proofread a research paper in 5 stages: revise content and structure, edit sentences for clarity and conciseness, catch spelling and formatting errors, get peer feedback, and run a final pre-submission check. Wait at least one day after writing before starting, work from large structural issues down to small details, and get at least one colleague review.

To choose the right journal, analyze your reference list for frequently cited journals, find where similar studies were published, and check Aim and Scope to shortlist 3\~5 candidates. Then compare impact metrics (IF, CiteScore, SJR, Quartile), review timelines, and open-access options, and filter out predatory journals before making your final decision.

Read the Author Guidelines in full, format your manuscript accordingly, write a persuasive cover letter, and complete the pre-submission checklist before uploading. Format non-compliance alone can trigger desk rejection, so following the guidelines precisely is the single most important step in the submission process.

Organize all reviewer comments into a categorization table, then write a point-by-point response letter addressing each one. When you agree, describe the changes with page and line numbers. When you disagree, rebut politely with supporting evidence. A revision request is not a rejection — it is an opportunity for publication.